NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi's pet Ganga cleanup programme and his mission for clean water has attracted interest from foreign nations. Israel and Denmark, global leaders in water technology and water management, say they can be part of this particular national mission. Israeli ambassador Alon Ushpiz told TOI, "Think about the purification of the holy Ganges. I have a list of 200 Israeli companies that can do this." Already, a consortium of Danish water companies are operating in Gujarat, even conducting a pilot project for water management in Rajkot, Danish ambassador Freddy Svane said. "If you go from Gujarat down to Tamil Nadu and up to Hyderabad, you will come across more than two dozen Israeli desalination plants. Some huge, others not so big. There are places in some cities where you probably will drink water from Israeli desalination plants, joint projects with state governments. This is good water, very good water. The plants are exactly the same as on the shores of the Mediterranean," Ushpiz said. Svane said Copenhagen harbour was a perfect case study of implementation of new technologies for water management. Danish companies can undertake impact studies, cleaning up of water and even provide enzymatic solutions to reduce waste water in quantity and quality. Ushpiz said, "Israel loses just about 8% of what we put in the pipes, the best figure in the world. Indian figures are higher. The beauty of water management is that you simply enlarge your water collection by saving water. I come from a society that has put water on a pedestal. It's not only a commodity, it's a cultural value."

NEW DELHI: Canada has offered to collaborate with the government on its ambitious project to clean up the Ganga, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday. "The Ganga action plan is not a mere river project for us but also a matter of faith for millions of Indians and, therefore, it will be a valuable addition to the collaboration between India and Canada in the area of water for health. "It is bound to further promote India-Canada partnership at different levels," Singh said after a meeting with Canadian high commissioner Stewart Beck, who had called on the minister. Singh, the Union minister for science and technology and earth sciences, said that a joint S&T committee would be formed by next year between the two countries with an aim to announce new programmes and awards. "The action plan is to collaborate in the areas of bio- technology, health, environment, energy, food security, nano- technology ccience, communication and Industrial R&D," Singh said. He added that efforts will be made to expedite the ongoing projects between the two countries on 'PET-MRI automatic tumour detection and recognition', which will add another dimension to the non-invasive detection of tumour using PET and MRI. The two countries have applied for joint international patents which have been filed under a project at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Bio- technology, Delhi, to develop new potential anti-malarial drugs. Singh added that there was a need to connect the best academic and R&D institutions in the two countries as that would be important for facilitating new knowledge creation through joint research and exchange of personnel.Canada offers to join efforts to clean up Ganga - The Times of India

New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has allocated more than Rs.2,000 crore to start the process of cleaning the Ganga river in the budget for the current fiscal year. Finance minister Arun Jaitely announced an integrated Ganga conservation mission, called â€œNamami Gangeâ€, with an outlay of Rs.2,037 crore for the year ending next 31 March. Jaitley said that the mission is being launched because a substantial amount of money has been spent on cleaning and conserving the Ganga in the past, but those efforts havenâ€™t yielded results. He allocated Rs.100 crore for preparation of detailed project reports on interlinking of rivers, and set aside a sum of Rs.100 crore for the development and beautification of the ghats in Kedarnath, Haridwar, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Patna and Delhi. Jaitley also proposed setting up a non-resident Indian (NRI) fund to finance special projects and â€œharness the enthusiasm of the NRI community to contribute towards the conservation of river Gangaâ€. â€œWe wholeheartedly endorse the realization of past failures (in cleaning the Ganga),â€ said Manoj Misra, convener of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, a Delhi-based organization to revive the Yamuna river. â€œBut hopefully the planners also understand that we cannot remain respectful to Ganga and yet disregard its integrity as an ecological system by interfering at will with it, in the name of either river-linking or building dams and barrages on it.â€ The government also announced a project to develop inland waterways called â€œJal Marg Vikasâ€. The first phase of the national waterways will be developed between Allahabad and Haldia. The 1,620-km project will be completed over a period of six years at a cost of Rs.4,200 crore. Ganga clean up project gets Rs2,037 crore in Union Budget - Livemint

Seeking to join Prime Minister Narendra Modiâ€™s initiative to clean river Ganga, the Army has proposed to set up a task force under a retired Lieutenant General to carry out the project efficiently. The Army has submitted a proposal to the Government to set up a task force under a retired Lt General with a team of 40 officers who would help in cleaning the river, Army sources said. The Territorial Army battalions of the Army are already engaged in the task of preserving ecology and environment and have been taking part in projects to spread greenery in barren areas such as the Bhati Mines area in Delhi, they said. The Modi Government had promised to clean up the river Ganga which has become heavily polluted due to industrial and human waste and has allocated `2,037 crore for the task in its first general budget.The NDA Government has also created a separate ministry of Ganga Rejuvenation under Union Minister Uma Bharti. The Government is also planning to set up an NRI fund to boost Gangas cleaning efforts.Army offers to join Ganga clean-up drive

NEW DELHI: With the Narendra Modi Government according top priority to cleaning River Ganga, the Centre has set a target of three years to rejuvenate the polluted holy river. Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said on Wednesday that efforts are being made to rejuvenate the river in three years, for which steps would be taken to address the problem of pollution from industries and sewage. "We want to rejuvenate it in three years. In three years, we want to establish the Environmental flow (E-Flow). We want to resolve the issue of pollution on the banks of River Ganga and the pollution caused by industries and sewage," Bharti, who is also holding the Ganga Rejuvenation portfolio, said. She was briefing reporters here on the sidelines of an international seminar on Water Risk and Stewardship in India. Plans to clean River Ganga are likely to commence in six months, she said. On Yamuna river, Bharti said officials of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) would meet the Ministry of Water Resources for sorting out issues concerned with her ministry. "I had a meeting with Delhi LG Najeeb Jung and discussed cleaning of Yamuna river which is flowing in the national capital. A wing has been set up with DDA for the purpose. The officials of the wing will meet us (Ministry of Water Resources) for sorting out issues concerned," she said. Bharti also said that 2015-16 would be observed as the year of "Water Conservation", while emphasising on the need for interlinking of rivers in the country. "We have planned to announce 2015-16 as the year of water conservation... We are ready to interlink rivers keeping environment in mind and we can do it in 10 years," the Minister said. Centre Sets Three Year Target to Rejuvenate Ganga River - The New Indian Express

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious 'Clean Ganga' project received a shot-in- the-arm with the South Australia government showing its interest in cleaning up the river, which is considered sacred by many Indians. South Australian premier Jay Weatherhill said on Wednesday that his government would propose a plan to clean the mighty Ganga. "We have the expertise to clean rivers and we are interested in taking up the 'Clean Ganga' project. We are also planning to meet India's water resources ministry and the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs to give them our proposal," said Weatherhill during a promotional campaign of the South Australian government for the 2015 Cricket World Cup. 'Clean Ganga's is one of Modi's pet project. The prime minister, through his MyGov site is also calling for suggestions to clean the Ganga. The Modi government is keen on seeking to bring about a radical change in the river's condition. Union water resources minister Uma Bharti also claimed Wednesday that Ganga would be free from most of its pollution within three years. South Australia keen on 'Clean Ganga' project - The Times of India

With so much nations coming for help, funds allocated, plannings going on and some are done, availability of manpower and Technology why still we aren't able to start the work or even taken any action.

NEW DELHI: The NDA Government announced 2017 as the deadline for cleaning Ganga, one of the pet projects of Modi, and said that a detailed roadmap would be made ready in another six monthsâ€™ time, following consultations with stakeholders including civil society, scientists, environmentalists, industry and others experts. Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti said that rejuvenating the Ganga was the topmost priority of the government and efforts were on to ensure that make the Ganga pollution free. â€œWe will ensure that within a period of three years, the Ganga is free of most of its pollution and at least one stream of the Ganga flows uninterrupted,â€ said Bharti, adding that a blueprint in this regard was being prepared by the Committee of Secretaries, which is likely to be ready in next six months.
Bharti attacked the Opposition for criticizing the NDA Government for slow progress in the Ganga Rejuvenation Plan and said â€œfor 60 years, they did not do anything to clean the holy river, and now in 60 days they are asking us to do everythingâ€. She said the government would ensure that the Ganga flows uninterrupted upstream and measures would be taken to see that its flow is not stopped due to construction of dams for power generation. The Supreme Court has asked by September 3 a detailed report of the steps taken to save the river. The Minister said that the Governmentâ€™s decision to go ahead with 30 river inter-linking projects was also an effort to revive other rivers. 3-yr Deadline Set for Ganga Clean-up - The New Indian Express

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the government not to give a bureaucratic answer about its plan to clean up the Ganga and instead unveil a stage- by-stage timeline for effective monitoring. "Don't give us a vision plan. An artist's view. It may take 200 years to implement," said a bench of Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice R. Banumathi. "We don't know if it (cleaning Ganga) will happen in our generation." "Can you indicate the stages through which this plan has to move and the time involved in each stage?" asked Justice Thakur as Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar started reading from a 29-page affidavit starting with the 1985 first Ganga Action Plan. The court wanted to be enlightened by "someone who has a comprehensive view of how Ganga would be made pollution free, nitty-gritty of the plan, and how the milestones can be achieved". The 2,525-km long Ganga, which originates in the Himalayas, is considered the holiest of rivers by Hindus. Telling Kumar that the government had given a "very bureaucratic answer" to its query, the court said it wanted to know how much will be achieved in the five years this government will be in office. During the last hearing Aug 13, the court had sought the status report on the government's action plan to clean the Ganga along with a roadmap. The court had also sought a report on what the government was doing to clean the river from Gangotri up to Haridwar in the first phase. Justice Thakur observed: "But for nature, it (Ganga) would have been worst. It is nature that is doing a lot of cleaning." The court told the solicitor general if polluting industries needed to be relocated, the court could assist the government with legal process. It May Take 200 Years to Implement Your Ganga Plan: SC to Centre - The New Indian Express